‘I will miss the positivity of the school’

By Mary Dennehy

AFTER 35 years in Scoil Aonghusa Senior, Principal Theresa Clarke is this week retiring from the ‘vibrant’ school – which has a solid reputation for pro-actively supporting children with special needs in attending mainstream school.

Theresa came to the Balrothery-based school as a teacher in 1981, becoming Principal in 2007 when Larry Farrell retired after more than 30 years at the helm of the co-educational school.

Looking back over her 35 years at Scoil Aonghusa, Theresa Clarke commended the increase in the number of children with special needs who are now supported in attending mainstream school – with 28 of Scoil Aonghusa Senior’s 190 pupils having special needs, 18 of whom are on the autism spectrum.

She said: “Looking back over the past 35 years so much has changed.

“One of the positive changes in my opinion is the increase in children with special needs in mainstream school.

“This has been a very positive and inclusive change which has been made possible by all of the resources afforded to schools and the introduction of special needs assistants into the classroom.

“There have been cuts and times over the years when these resources have been at risk. However, luckily we can still provide the necessary support for children with special needs here at Scoil Aonghusa.”

She added: “Scoil Aonghusa Senior is a very vibrant school and that’s down to the support given to teachers from pupils, parents and the wider community – support which has helped the school to achieve a 96 per cent attendance rate in recent years.

“This support is invaluable and has helped us to create a fun learning environment within a close-knit community – and the Dominican brothers in the area have been instrumental over the years in the development of the area’s strong community ethos.

“I really will miss the school community, I have enjoyed coming to work every day – it never seemed like a job to me.

“Alongside missing the pupils, staff, parents and members of the wider community, I will hugely miss the banter that we have here at Scoil Aonghusa Senior.

“I’ll also miss meeting up with people and the positivity and happiness that the school embraces.”

Theresa may be waving goodbye to Scoil Aonghusa Senior but she told The Echo that she wishes to make a further contribution to education on a voluntary basis.

Scoil Aonghusa Senior is due to continue its growth with the construction of an extension next year, which will house a new classroom and four resource rooms.